The Daily Telegraph Book of Hymns

By Ian Bradley

Book Overview

Here are the full original texts of 150 of the best loved hymns in the English language. Each is accompanied by a fascinating commentary, giving biographical details of the author (such as the Calvinist creator of Rock of Ages who once calculated that the average human sins 2,522,880,000 times); notes on the circumstances in which the hymn was written; and variant versions. Each hymn is prefaced by an urbanely written and agreeably subjective commentary with a wealth of anecdotes and a few ribald parodies. This charming book should also be required reading for all those responsible for choosing hymns in church. Ian Bradley writes with wit, elegance and charm and is quite exceptionally knowledgeable about his subject.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826482821
• ISBN13: 9780826482822
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Continuum
• Length: 530 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Book of Hymns - Soul Food AND Respectable Scholarship

I ordered Book of Hymns as a Christmas gift for my wife -- hoping against hope that it would be a cut above the usual hymn history pablum. I was not disappointed. I couldn't put the book down! The authors have really done their homework, combining their own devotional thoughts with details from the hymnwriters' personal lives. Now it's on sale -- and I'm ordering two more! Highly recommended. Johnny Long Presbyterian Church in America World Harvest Mission ("The Sonship People") Africa Renewal Team Nairobi, Kenya East Africa